Study Says Uber Is Not Reducing Drunk Driving Rates

Trending News: Uber Hasn't Actually Stopped People From Driving Drunk

Why Is This Important?

Because Uber might not be making as much of an impact on road safety as it says.

Long Story Short

A new study has found that Uber hasn't actually reduced drunk driving rates in 100 U.S. cities.

Long Story

Years ago, the moment between your last shotgun beer and the club had one big annoyance in the middle — cabs. You had to call them in advance, your friends wouldn't be ready in time, and you likely wouldn't get great service. Uber has changed all that and helped launch an entire sharing based economy — but one of its main selling points may be a lie.

According to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Uber hasn't been able to convince people to not get behind the wheel when they're drunk. And it isn't like Uber not being available could be blamed either because the researchers only looked at the 100 most populated cities where Uber is available.

So, why aren't drivers making the choice to go with Uber, considering it's way safer than driving drunk and cheaper than a cab? The researchers say it might be because there simply aren't enough Ubers around (I find that hard to believe). A better reason could be that people still prefer to take the low risk of getting a DUI and save the money — even if it's way cheaper than before.

Uber has toted in the past that people are less likely to drive drunk since their service came out, but they only relied on anecdotal evidence, as pointed out by NPR.

Uber seems to be taking the science-based evidence on the chin, though as it gave this response:

“We’re glad Uber can provide an alternative to drunk driving and help people make more responsible choices,” said Uber spokeswoman Brooke Anderson to The Washington Post. “Our ridership numbers show that trips peak at times when people are more likely to be out drinking and 80% of riders says that Uber has helped them personally avoid drinking and driving.”

For me, this is less of an Uber problem than an American problem. The fact that people still don't know how risky drunk driving is, especially when there is a viable other option that's not that expensive, is pretty mind blowing. Don't drink and drive people. Just don't.

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Take a bus, crawl, a cab or an Uber — but whatever you do, don't drink and drive!